The concept that animal health and the environment influence human health has been around since ancient times. Indeed, the initial mission of veterinary medicine was to benefit human health by improving the food supply. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leaders in medicine such as Drs. Rudolf Virchow and William Osler embraced the concept that human health and animal health were inextricably linked. As the 20th century progressed, collaboration between medicine and veterinary medicine waned. In the 21st century, the emergence of deadly zoonotic diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and West Nile virus, present the urgent need that these professions renew and increase collaborative efforts.
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— Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP, FACP, Bruce Kaplan, DVM, Thomas P. Monath, MD, James H. Steele, DVM, MPH
This article was originally published in the March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
